Hans van Haren

Hans van Haren	ROYAL NETHERLANDS INSTITUTE FOR SEA RESEARCH Postal address: P.O. Box 59, NL-1790 AB Den Burg (Texel) The Netherlands Visiting address: Landsdiep 4 NL-1797 SZ ’t Horntje (Texel) The Netherlands Phone: (+31) (0)222-369300 Fax: (+31) (0)222-319674

E-mail: hans.van.haren@nioz.nl Phone: (+31) (0)222-369451

Research Interest:
From a scientific point of view, the complexity of the ocean demands a "multidisciplinary" approach for understanding. I do share this view and the oceanographic projects I have contributed to reflect this: Frisian Front Project, Integrated North Sea Project, “Processes of vertical exchange in shelf seas”, Faeroe-Shetland Channel project “Processes above Continental Slopes”. However, the successful multidisciplinary project should be firmly based on the proper understanding of the relevant mono-disciplinary processes and on the communicative ability of the investigators beyond the borders of their disciplines. Within the scientific discipline of physical oceanography my interest focuses on the dynamical effects of density variations, ranging from diapycnal mixing via modification of oscillatory currents to internal waves. Over the years my research has always been funded on the analysis of measurements obtained at sea, with emphasis on those from moored instruments. Slowly, my working area changed from shallow seas (North Sea, Scotian shelf) via the continental slope to deep seas (Mediterranean Sea) and ocean (Bay of Biscay, Canary Basin, Brazil Basin). Meanwhile, my interest changed from the dynamical impact of fronts and the modifications of barotropic currents by stratification to internal wave fluxes and interactions. Attempts to estimate internal wave band fluxes directly using ADCP and thermistor string resulted in a somewhat exaggerated interest in the working of oceanographic instrumentation and the development of specialized instrumentation (NIOZ Thermistor String). This interest resulted in the measurement of very sharp fronts, shock-waves and their impact on sediment resuspension and plankton dynamics.